


The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place

by GilbertsBlake



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, I hope someone will like this, Idiots in Love, Misunderstandings, They are so in love, They both think the other one rejected them, i love the angst, plays AFTER anne destroys the letter but BEFORE she leaves for college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23020390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GilbertsBlake/pseuds/GilbertsBlake
Summary: Anne Shirley Cuthbert was a lot of things, but not stupid. She knew how dangerous it could be to be near trees when a violent storm was raging outside. Mother Nature was conspiring against her. She had landed in the middle of a monsoon and was seriously unsure if she would make it to Green Gables without getting hypothermia.She was aware that Gilbert's house was nearby, but in her wounded pride, she was actually thinking about what she could do better: Being hypothermic or facing Gilbert Blythe after he turned her away.Being hypothermic sounded kinda nice to be honest
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 26
Kudos: 283





	1. Mother Nature was reacting to her mood

Anne just couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that he didn't even have the decency to tell her to her face that he didn't feel the same way about her. Honestly, who could blame him? What could she possibly think that the most eligible bachelor could care for that red-haired orphan? She had clearly missunderstood his confused words on the night of the exam. 

"Get over it" she reminded herself. In a few days she would be starting college anyway. No need to cry over some boy. A whole new chapter in her life would start soon and that's what she should focus on and most of all she should be happy about it. "You won't think about Gilbert Blythe for one more second" she told herself while walking through the woods of Avonlea. 

She wanted to use the last moments in her hometown to walk through nature and to get a clear head. She tried with all she had to stay positive. She tried not to think that Matthew couldn't be more in a hurry for her to leave, or that Diana couldn't go to Queens, or that Gilbert -  
"UGH" she said when she tought of the young man who robbed her of all her nerves. 

Lost in thoughts, she ran through the woods and did not notice how the sky was closing in on her. Only when the first raindrops landed on her nose did she look up to see that Mother Nature was reacting to her mood. The rain poured down on her and she speeded up her steps. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was, and when she realized it, she made an annoyed sound. Where had her subconscious taken her? 

Gilbert was refilling the fireplace with firewood when he heard the weather change drastically. The rain was pouring down like crazy on the roof of his house. He took a deep breath and hoped that Bash and his daughter were safely in Charlottetown. Bash had left with his mother Hazel a few hours ago to take care of business and would stay there overnight.  
The young man took a deep breath and approached the window to see how heavy the rain really was. "What?" he muttered to himself as he looked outside and swore he saw something red between the trees. Or rather: red hair that could only belong to one person. "That can't be."

With quick steps he went to the door and opened it. The weather was going crazy and the sky was almost black. This was a heavy storm that Avonlea had not seen for a long time. Under the protective veranda Gilbert walked a few steps straight ahead and looked around. Perhaps his subconscious had played a trick on him. Possible wishful thinking. Of course not that the woman of his dreams was out in the storm but the wish to see her again. Gilbert had mustered up the courage to write down all his feelings in the letter. He knew there would be no reaction from her. She had made it clear that she was not interested. What did he expect? Anne was beautiful, intelligent, strong-willed and above all independent. She did not need a husband. Anne Shirley Cuthbert could conquer the world on her own. He had no doubt about that. 

He was about to turn around and return to the house when he saw it again in the distance. It was clearly a person. A person with red hair. He squinted his eyes together to see better through the raging rain and then he recognised her clearly and his heart stopped for a moment. The feeling reminded him of the moment 3 years ago when he was pouring buckets of water into Ruby's family's burning house. Suddenly he saw a movement. A shadow. He saw someone running through the hallways of the burning house and a few seconds later he saw clearly what was going on. Suddenly she stood in front of him, grabbed the doorknob and closed the door with a jerky movement.  
Worried, he called her name but by then the door was closed again and Gilbert was completely confused as to what was going on. He was worried about the girl he hardly knew. 

Now he saw exactly the same girl, who had grown into a young woman, running through the woods in the middle of a heavy rainstorm. The young woman who had slowly but surely conquered his heart in recent years. The only woman he ever wanted to marry in his life. 

"ANNE!" he shouted in panic and his legs moved forward automatically. "ANNE!!" he shouted again and somehow tried to drown out the loud rain storm. His clothes were already soaked through and the view was slightly blurred. 

Anne Shirley Cuthbert was a lot of things, but not stupid. She knew how dangerous it could be to be near trees when a violent storm was raging outside. Mother Nature was conspiring against her. She had landed in the middle of a monsoon and was seriously unsure if she would make it to Green Gables without getting hypothermia. 

She was aware that Gilbert's house was nearby, but in her wounded pride, she was actually thinking about what she could do better: Being hypothermic or facing Gilbert Blythe after he turned her away. Suddenly, she heard a voice. A male voice she knew.  
At first she thought she was imagining it but a few seconds later she heard it again and the voice called something. Her name. 

The sight was somewhat impaired by the rain so she followed the voice and then she recognized him. He too was completely soaked. "Anne!!! What are you doing out here????" he asked her in complete surprise. 

"I find rain very beautiful" she replied not very quick-witted which was quite unusual for her but she was so cold that she could hardly think. 

"Come inside" he asked her and put a hand on her back to lead her to the house. At the touch, Anne felt as if she had been burned. She flinched slightly and speeded up her steps to escape the polite gesture. 

"I can't believe it" she muttered to herself and ran to the house.

After Gilbert closed the door behind him he looked at Anne who was slowly moving towards the fireplace. Her teeth clattered through the cold. "You..." he started and slowly walked a few steps towards her. He was unsure how to deal with her but his feelings werent that important right now. He had to make sure she didn't get sick.  
"You should get undressed," he said. Anne´s head turned so fast in his direction that he was afraid she might have broken something. 

"WHAT?" she shouted in indignation. 

"Hypothermia is very dangerous" he said. "You need to get out of those clothes. I'll bring you some new ones and then I'll put on some water for tea" he said, walking quickly out of the room. 

Anne looked after him with big eyes. What had she got herself into here? There was a huge storm outside and she was stuck with the person who had turned her away. What luck Matthew and Marilla were in Charlottetown until the next day to finish the rest of the arrangements for Anne's departure. She was sure that Matthew was already happy. Tears formed in her eyes but she blinked them away. She could not show any more weakness in front of Gilbert. This was bad enough and the weather - "Oh my God! Bell!" she called out as she remembered that her beloved horse and the foal must have been terrified in the barn in this weather. She turned away from the fire and walked with big steps towards the door but before she could reach the doorknob Gilbert came around the corner and blocked the way. 

"Anne! Are you mad?" he asked her angrily. 

"Let me go Gilbert! Belle and Butterscotch are alone! And Pride!! I must go to them. Maybe something will happen to them," the redhead shouted furiously, trying to get past Gilbert to get out the door. 

"Anne!" he repeated her name and Anne had enough 

"I know what my name is!! You've said it many times today and now please let me through," she replied and gleamed at him angrily. 

"You can't help Belle, Butterscotch or Pride either if you never get to Green Gable because you freeze to death in between. The storm is huge Anne. I'm not letting you go outside. They'll be fine. They are safe in the barn as we are safe in this house" he tried to convince her. 

"Please" he said and lost himself in her blue eyes while Anne lost herself in his hazel eyes and swayed back and forth between calming herself because he was right and being even more annoyed because he was right. 

Anne took a deep breath and breathed out slowly before she gave a quiet "okay" and took a step back. 

"I am sure they will be fine Anne" Gilbert told her and handed her the clothes he had fetched. 

"Thanks" she said and took the clothes off him before taking quick steps past him.

While Anne disappeared into one of the rooms to change, he laid one of the blankets he had brought with him on the floor to sit in front of the stove. He had already changed and was still waiting for it to warm up again. The silence in the house was deafening. Anne clearly avoided him and he did not know how to deal with it. He did not expect to see her again until the holidays. By then the matter would have been over and she might have forgiven him for being so open in his letter. 

He didn't know how to deal with Anne. He knew that they were rivals at school but this childish situation was already behind them. At the latest at the demonstration in front of the committee it had been proven that the two work well together. 

Gilbert took a deep breath as he thought back to Ms Stacy's porch that evening. He was so sure that he hadn't imagined it. That he hadn't imagined that moment between them. But when Anne pointed out how lucky Winifred was to have him, he was totally confused. He knew that he had to make up his mind. What was he talking about? Actually he knew that since the dance lessons. Since the two of them had faded out everyone around them and danced together as if they had never done anything else, he knew that he was addicted to her. He shook his head. He had always been impressed by her. Not without reason had Bash kept teasing him about how much he talked about Anne. It was the truth. Anne intrigued him more every day. She had this fire that he'd never seen in anyone else. 

He was serious about what he had written: he could not imagine ever marrying anyone else but her. He was hopelessly devoted to her. 

The sound of barefoot feet on the floor announced that Anne was coming back. Gilbert turned around and looked at her. With slow movements she hung up her wet clothes and then walked in his direction. He was petrified at the sight of her. His shirt passed as a nightdress because of her height and narrower stature, but her bare legs were still visible. He swallowed. 

Slowly he made room and slipped a little to the side so she could sit next to him by the fire but she made no attempt to come closer. 

"Where are the others?" she asked and stopped next to the table. She was uncomfortable to stand undressed like that in front of Gilbert. Marilla would be outraged if she heard about it. 

"Bash is in Charlottetown with Delphine and Hazel until tomorrow," he said and she nodded. 

"So are Matthew and Marilla," she replied, turning, lost in thoughts, towards the window. At least that's what it looked like to Gilbert. In truth, a whole storm was raging inside Anne. Just like outside. 

She wanted everything at once. She wanted to shout at him, she wanted to ask him why he was such a coward, she wanted to run away and be near him at the same time. It was exhausting. She was unhappy with herself. Only a few days ago she had told Diana how stupid it was to worry so much. You just have to ask and that's what she wanted to do but he - 

"Oh, my God," she said and turned towards him. How could she not think of that before?  


"What?" Gilbert asked and looked at her curiously. In one quick movement he rose and walked two steps towards Anne. What had happened?

"Winifred!" replied Anne and Gilbert raised an eyebrow in confusion. She looked down at herself and out of the window and back to the man she loved but didn't love her because he loved another. 

"I can't be here alone with you. What will your fiancée think? Isn´t that against any rules? I'm not really familiar with it, but I'm almost certain I'm not allowed to be here-" 

"Anne" he tried to interrupt her, but it was pointless. "and what are her parents to think when you have another girl here? Why aren't you in Charlottetown anyways?"  


Gilbert got more and more confused with every word that came out of her mouth and you could see it in his face. Was his writing so illegible? Had Anne read wrong? 

"Anne I don't understand" he said totally confused and looked at her questioningly while panic was written on Anne's face. 

"What don't you understand?' she asked, "I shouldn't be here, Gilbert" she summarized her worries and wanted to slap herself. Winifred did not deserve this. 

"Anne..." he started. "Winifred and I aren't together anymore"


	2. sort things out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! I never thought someone would!

_"Winifred and I aren't together anymore"_ she repeated his words in her head and looked at him with big eyes. 

"But..." she began her sentence and thought back to the moment when she tried to restore the letter. What if she had misunderstood everything? What if he was trying to tell her that he... 

No, it couldn't be.

Anne had resigned herself to the thought (what a lie it was) that Gilbert was not her destiny. 

"You already know that. It was all in the letter" he tore her from her thoughts and Anne continued to stare at him with big eyes. "The letter" she repeated his words. 

"Yes, the letter I wrote you" he said. 

"Oh you mean the letter you wrote with MY pen and then put in my room? When were you at my house, anyway?" she asked, remembering how much it upset her. She was so upset that she didn't realize how she was walking towards Gilbert and then stopped right in front of him. "I stood in front of you just like that a few days ago and asked you if you had anything to say to me and you had nothing to say except congratulations," and gleamed at him in an furios way. 

"I..." he started and tried to find the right words, "I meant it the way I wrote it" he explained in a calm tone, "I dont expect your favor" he ended the sentence obviously nervously and breathed in and out in a tense way. "Not expect my favor?" she asked and now she was completely confused. 

"Yes" he made clear again and Anne knew she would not be able to avoid it now. She moved the chair next to her and sat down. Gilbert mirrored her movement and sat down opposite her. He looked at her highly concentrated. He felt like the night of the final exams again. He remembered how he sucked up every word she said as if he were a drowning man reaching for his life belt. 

"Gilbert, I have something to tell you," she started, barely daring to look him in the eye. "I never read your letter" she confessed and he looked at her with big eyes. "I was so angry at you because you had nothing to say to me after reading MY letter and - " 

"Wait, Anne. What letter?" he interrupted her,and she looked up. 

"What?" she asked, thinking he was teasing her. 

"Anne. What letter?" he repeated his question and Anne realized how she became furios. How dare he? She stood up from her chair and put her hand on the table. 

"Is this a joke to you Gilbert? I'm talking about the letter I left for you right here the day after finals. It was right here!!" she emphasized, pointing her finger to the spot on the table where she had put it. 

Gilbert also got up from the chair and raised his hands in an apologetic gesture.

"I have not received a letter Anne. I swear to you" he explained and she looked at him confused. 

Anne processed what he tried to explain to her. If he never received her letter: What did HIS letter say?

"To be completely honest: Not only did I not read the letter, I ripped the letter apart and threw it out of the window" she confessed.

"Oh" he said and he felt the now familiar stabbing in his chest. He felt exactly the same pain as he did a few days ago at the ruins. Rejection. 

"I thought you-" she tried to explain but he interrupted her directly. "It's okay Anne" he assured her politely and put his hands in his pockets. He was visibly uncomfortable. He had misunderstood everything again. Her letter, which he had miraculously never received, was probably a written statement about how wrong he had behaved on the evening of the final exams.

"I better take you to our guest room. It's late," he said and walked past her. It was harder for him to breathe than usual, his shoulder was hanging down. He was hurt. 

No one had prepared him for how confusing and exhausting feelings were. He meant what he had written: He didn't expect her favor but it still hurt. 

_"And I certainly dont need you"_ he remembered the train ride to Charlottetown together. He remembered how happy he was when Anne asked him to accompany her to Aunt Jo´s.  
He was really looking forward to this but she reminded him that he was only here because Marilla and Matthew insisted. Anne didn't needed him. Never had. Never will. She was absolutely independent and that was a trait he admired so much about her. She was a fierce of nature. He had to realize that his feelings had no place here. Anne would never choose him as a companion.  
He had to look ahead and that's what he did. He invited Winnifred to tea. The nice, slightly crazy Winnifred who worked with him at Dr Ward's. She was pretty and funny. So why not he wondered. He thought he was doing the right thing. Oh how wrong he was. 

_"Here we go! And together, two, three, four and awaaaay. Very good! And swing through raised arms to form another set."_

He didn't know what was happening to him at that moment. The second he held Anne's hand in his, it was all over him again. He blanked out all the others. There was only Anne left for him. All these feelings he was holding back crashed down on him. 

_"What in the world did you say to our class mades to make them change their minds?"_

Gilbert was absolutely impressed by Anne's actions. The newspaper article was just what Avonlea needed. He agreed with Anne on every point and was insanely proud of her. He was insanely proud of what they had all accomplished that night. That night at Ms. Stayc's house, he gathered his courage and joined Anne outside on the porch. That night, they both realized what they could accomplish as a team if they worked together. He remembered the evening very well because it was the evening when he once again felt that Anne still had the same attraction to him. He even caught himself looking at her lips. Thinking about kissing her. 

"Gilbert?" she called his name and ripped him from his thoughts. She sounded nervous. 

Irritated, he stopped and turned to her. Brown met blue and he saw it in her eyes that something was pressing her very much. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he had almost forgotten where he was.

Anne looked at him with big eyes and she felt her heartbeat accelerate. She finally wanted to talk to him. She wanted to tell him what she had wanted to say a few days ago. 

With slow steps she moved in his direction and thought of all the moments with him. 

_  
Any dragons around here that need slaying?_

_T-R-U-C-E_

_Come home someday_

_I missed you_

_Maybe he is my destiny_

_The only time I didn't was at dance practice, and that's because I couldn't find any words at all, just very confusing feelings._

_It was like a veil hanging before my inner consciousness was suddenly lifted and I was Elizabeth Bennet dancing with Mr. Darcy_

_There will be plennty more fishes - I would have settled for one_

_Who knew? We would make such a good T-E-A-M_

_Just... one thing_

_Anne and Gilbert tied for first_

_You know what I can do? Ask. Even if his words are hurtful I will have facts_

"Anne? Are you--" 

"I love you" she interrupted him and she felt this huge stone fall from her body. Gilbert was staring at her with a shocked expression which made her very nervous but then he started moving into her direction. The next thing she knew, he had slammed his lips to hers and nearly knocked all wind from her lungs. His lips brushed hers. Not innocently, like a tease but hot, fiery, passionate and demanding.

He kissed her and the world fell away. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.

Slowly the two ended the kiss to gasp for breath and looked each other in the eyes. He leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touching. Dear god, he couldn’t fight against the thoughts that were going through him. Her very smell was flooding his senses now. 

"Anne Shirley-Cuthbert I've loved you since that day you broke your slate over my head in school," he confessed and stroked a strand of hair out of her face. Anne smiled at the memory of this moment. "You deserved that" she said and Gilbert returned her smile. "Every single moment with you has brought me here today. I wouldn't change it for anything in the world" he replied and kissed her again.  


A kiss which was the beginning, the promise of much more to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! If someone is interested I will def continue writing. Please tell me how accurate I described the characters. I am totally unsure. I love honest feedback.


End file.
